Go to www.porkbeinspired.com to see a chart of revised pork cooking times.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has updated its recommendation for safely cooking pork. The recommended safe cooking temperature for whole cuts of pork has been lowered from 160 degrees to 145 degrees with a three-minute rest time.

"Cooking raw pork to 145 degrees with the addition of a three-minute rest time will result in a product that is both microbiologically safe and at its best quality," said LSU AgCenter nutritionist Beth Reames. "This change does not apply to ground meats - including beef, veal, lamb and pork - which should be cooked to 160 degrees and do not require a rest time."

The safe cooking temperature for all poultry products, including ground chicken and turkey, remains at 165 degrees, she added.

"USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service has determined it is just as safe to cook cuts of pork to 145 degrees with a three-minute rest time as it is to cook them to 160 degrees with no rest time," Reames said.

Consumers often have viewed the color pink in pork to be a sign of undercooked meat, Reames said. If raw pork is cooked to 145 degrees and allowed to rest for three minutes, it may still be pink but is safe to eat. The pink color can be due to the cooking method, added ingredients or other factors. (As before, cured pork will remain pink after cooking.)

A digital, instant-read thermometer should be inserted into the thickest part of the meat without touching any bone. The temperature should register within a few seconds

Information from the National Pork Board states that the new temperatures reflect both food safety and the nutritional content of pork in recent years. On average, most common cuts of pork are 16 percent leaner than 20 years ago, and saturated fat has dropped 27 percent.